Member, Board of Directors (Founding Director – Volunteer)

Member, Board of Directors (Founding Director - Volunteer) (m/f/d)

Employment Type: Volunteer

Summary

Unseen Ottawa – Community Empowerment Toolbox (CET) is recruiting Founding Directors to complete incorporation and launch our first-year programs. Founding Directors will be named as First Directors at incorporation and help establish the systems that guide CET’s Street Stewards, Pay-It-Forward Meals, Skill-Share Workshops, and Micro-Work & Housing Hub.

About us

Unseen Ottawa (CET) is a civic & social, community-development initiative tackling homelessness with practical, community-run solutions. Our ladder of support pairs immediate relief (outreach and meals) with pathways to income, skills, housing navigation, and stability. We work from an equity, trauma-informed, harm-reduction lens and centre lived experience.

What you will do

1. Governance & strategy: Help finalize purposes, articles/bylaws, and a Year-1 strategic plan aligned to CET’s four pillars.
2. Founding tasks (first 90 days): Approve policies (finance, safeguarding, equity & inclusion, conflicts of interest), adopt a simple control framework (budget, cashflow, approvals), and set the annual board calendar.
3. Oversight: Review monthly dashboards (outreach routes, meals delivered, workshop participation, micro-work engagement, housing navigation), risk register, and basic financials.
4. Partnerships & fundraising: Open doors with local businesses, community groups, foundations, and city partners; support sponsor cultivation and campaigns.
5. Champion lived experience: Ensure people with lived/proximate experience shape decisions, materials, and program practices.
6. Committees: Contribute to one committee (Finance & Risk; Fundraising & Partnerships; Programs & Safeguarding; Equity & Lived Experience).
7. Time commitment: ~5–8 hrs/month (board meeting every 6–8 weeks + prep/committee work). Hybrid/remote with occasional Ottawa meetups.

What we are looking for

Required

• Willingness to serve as a Founding Director and be named as a First Director at incorporation (consent to act).
• Strong commitment to CET’s mission, equity, harm reduction, and trauma-informed practice.
• Strategic thinker with good judgment, integrity, and collaborative style.
• Ability to commit ~4–8 hrs/month and prepare for meetings (Google Docs/Sheets + Zoom).

Nice to have (any mix)

• Treasurer/Finance (budgeting, basic controls, CRA filings).
• Legal/Policy (governance, MOUs/agreements, privacy/liability).
• Fundraising/Corporate Partnerships (sponsors, events, grants).
• Public Health/Housing Navigation (street outreach, shelter/housing systems).
• Local Business/Operations (hospitality/food/logistics).
• Lived or proximate experience with homelessness/poverty (highly valued).
• Previous board experience and/or bilingual (EN/FR) are assets, not requirements.

Why join us?

Be a founding voice - shape how a practical, people-first model launches in Ottawa.

See tangible impact quickly across outreach, meals, skills, micro-work, and housing navigation.

Grow your leadership with a supportive, sleeves-rolled-up board culture.

Our hiring process

1. Apply with resume/LinkedIn and answers to the five questions below.
2. 30-minute conversation with the Founder and Executive Director
3. Reference check (1–2 people).
4. Invitation to serve as Founding Director; sign Ontario’s standard Consent to Act; onboarding & orientation.
   (If you choose to join outreach or workshop activities, a Vulnerable Sector Check may be requested.)

Place of work / Location

Ottawa, Canada (hybrid/remote-friendly). Occasional in-person board or partner meetings by agreement.

How to apply for this job

Click Apply (Quick Apply) and include your resume/LinkedIn. In place of a cover letter, please answer (bullets are fine):

1. Why CET’s mission resonates with you.
2. Approximate monthly time you can commit.
3. Can you attend a 60–90 min board meeting every 6–8 weeks and one committee touchpoint monthly? (Yes/No)
4. Pick your top 2 strengths to contribute in the first 6–12 months.
   (Choose two: Treasurer/Finance • Legal/Policy • Fundraising/Partnerships • Public Health/Housing Navigation • Operations/Logistics • Governance & Risk • Lived/Proximate Experience)
5. Do you have any real or perceived conflicts of interest (employer, vendors, funders, affiliations)?
   (Yes/No; if Yes, brief note)
6. Your Ottawa connection and/or lived experience you’d like us to be aware of (optional).
   

Unseen Ottawa welcomes applicants from equity-seeking groups. Accessibility accommodations available -please tell us what you need.